The 2016 Exercise Upgrader: The Best Ways To Elevate Your Workout Routine

10 Surefire Ways To Take Your Body To The Next Level

Here’s an easy yet powerful way to build a new you by hitting the gym and changing your body. More muscle, more confidence, and better health will carry over to practically everything you do in life and ensure 2016 will be the best year of your life.

But once you get to the gym, don’t just do what you’ve always done. Upgrade your outdated 2015 exercise selection with better, cooler variations to build more strength, fix nagging aches and pains, and get more results in less time. Here’s how to upgrade your entire workout routine for the new year.

Back Squats Upgrade: Bulgarian Split Squats

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The back squat is great in building huge quads, strong legs, and total-body strength. The downside, however, is that it can also aggravate existing lower back or hip problems because you lean so far forward at the bottom and carry so much weight.
Instead, use a leg exercise that reduces the stress on your body while keeping your spine happy. The Bulgarian Split Squat blasts your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and core one leg at a time as you stay much more upright. Also, because it’s a single-leg exercise, you’ll use a lot less weight to get the same effect.

Seated Cable Row Upgrade: Inverted Rows

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Seated cable rows are great at building a wide back and thick traps to make you look like you work out, but one way to spice up your workout is to upgrade it to inverted rows.

First, it’s yet another way to get out of a seated position (which you probably spend too much time in anyway). Two, it takes a lot of pressure off your joints and lower back because it’s purely bodyweight. Three, it’s a cinch to make harder: Just place your feet on a box, or even do them with one arm.

Barbell Bench Upgrade: Alternating Dumbbell Bench Press

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The bench press is the best chest exercise for strength, but for a lot of people it’s murder on your shoulders and joints. Instead, give your body a break by switching to alternating dumbbell bench presses.

When you alternate between sides, each set takes longer, which increases the time under tension (TUT) and gives you a bigger pump and more muscle-building stimulus. Also, when you blast each arm and pec separately, you’ll strengthen the stabilizing muscles and correct any imbalances between sides.

Dumbbell Curl Upgrade: Cable Curls

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With a bicep curl, your weight moves in an arc: Near the beginning and end of the movement, the weight moves fairly parallel with the floor. But using a dumbbell (or barbell) means you only fight gravity in the middle range of the movement.

If you use cables, however, the pulleys will give your biceps constant tension throughout the movement for bigger guns.

Deadlift Upgrade: Single-Leg Romanian Deadlifts

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Deadlifts are great at building leg, hip and back muscles, but give your lower back and spine a break this year by switching to single-leg Romanian deadlifts. One, you won’t use as much weight to get the same results, which takes a lot of stress off your joints and spine. Two, you’ll target your glutes, helping to strengthen you for more single-leg movements that demand more stability (which comes from your glutes). Finally, you’ll blast each leg separately to correct any asymmetries and prevent injuries.

Barbell Jump Squat Upgrade: Dumbbell Snatch

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Jump squats help build explosiveness in your lower body, but the problem is that landing on the ground with a barbell on your back will jar your joints.

So with that in mind, try a dumbbell snatch instead. With this move, you’ll rapidly and explosively pull a weight overhead by generating force through your legs and hips. You’ll also get thick upper-traps while mimicking an Olympic snatch without the bumper plates (which a lot of gyms sadly don’t have). As you pull, keep your elbow above the dumbbell and keep it close to your body as if you were in a phone booth.

Side Plank Upgrade: Single-Arm Farmer Carry

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Build “old-school strength” with a very simple formula: Pick up heavy stuff and move it. Use a single-arm farmer carry to blast your core and train your body to stay rigid while moving. By holding a heavy weight on one side, your abs will work overtime to stabilize your body and prevent your spine from leaning or bending (like with a side plank). Beyond building a six pack, farmer carries skyrocket your grip and forearm strength, which carries over to all other gym exercises.

Leg Press Upgrade: Goblet Squat

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We're not huge fans of workout machines, but the leg press does have its advantages. It helps you blast your quads so you can hit new personal records on your back squat. But if you aren’t a powerlifter (or are just lazy), replace the leg press with a goblet squat.

One, it targets your quads through a full range-of-motion and even strengthens your glutes and core. Two, unlike a back squat, it’s hard to do wrong — holding a weight in front of you corrects your movement and lets you squat deeper.

Back Extension Upgrade: Supine Hip Extension With Leg Curl

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Here’s a fitness myth that needs to die: If your back hurts, you need to strengthen your back. If you have back pain, chances are your lower back is already super-extended and overactive. Don’t make it worse by strengthening that dysfunction with a back extension.

Try the supine hip extension with leg curl (SHELC) instead, which strengthens your glutes and hamstrings to reduce back pain. Just make sure you DON’T arch your lower back — keep it flat.